Almost 600 children were mugged in West Yorkshire last year, new figures have revealed.

Figures compiled by the Conservative Party from police data show 582 children aged 11 to 16 were robbed in the county in 2005/6.

Since it is generally accepted that only a fifth of robberies are reported, the Tories said, the true number could be as high as 2,772 a year.

Today the mother of a Bradford teenager, who was mugged in Peel Park, Undercliffe, said the figures were startling, but not surprising.

Norman Airey, 13, of Swain House, was walking through the park last September when two teenagers threatened to kill them and stole his mobile phone and some money.

Julie Beaumont, 33, said: "There needs to be more discipline in schools and at home. People who do this are not even scared of police.

"I am very angry about what happened to my son, but more than anything it makes you worry about where your children are going and who they are with."

The Tories compiled the information from requests under the Freedom of Information Act. Shadow Home Secretary David Davis said it showed violent crime was "out of control".

He said: "These new statistics reveal a worryingly significant area of crime that has gone unrecognised. Worse, this is likely to be the tip of the iceberg.

"Youth-on-youth crime could be a serious long-term problem and Labour is not even monitoring it."

The figures showed 2,531 muggings were reported to West Yorkshire Police in the 12-month period with 23 per cent against 11 to 16-year-olds.

The highest number of robberies on children was in the Metropolitan Police area, with 14,209.

Conservative youth spokeswoman Justine Greening said: "Having mobiles and iPods routinely stolen, being marched to the cashpoint, seeing friends mugged - this is the everyday life for too many of our teenagers."

A Home Office spokesman said the Government took the problem of street robbery "extremely seriously".

A West Yorkshire Police spokesman said: "West Yorkshire Police works closely alongside partner agencies to ensure it strives to improve public safety"

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